Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Old Posts (4) - Perspective

I heard a great comment by my pastor at church today that stuck in my head. He made the point that worshiping God doesn't necessarily cause our issues in this life to go away, but it gives us a perspective on life that causes us to have peace. Life becomes difficult and stressful for at least two reasons: both from sin I commit, and because the fact that I live in a fallen world.


Living in America, its incredibly easy to get caught up in the American way of life. We don't realize how far we veer off course. I remember as a kid going to the ocean and getting dragged hundreds of yards by the ocean's current. The current didn't feel incredibly strong when I was in the water, but when I looked for my beach chair, I realized how great its effect on me was. In life, the world's effect on us is like the ocean's current. It slowly pulls us away from God, and we don't realize how far we've drifted until we look back to God. We slowly drift into a love of work, money, and keeping up an image to others. As we focus on these worldly task, we lose the peace of worshipping God. Life becomes more stressful, because it makes less sense. As we turn back to worshipping God, we realize the eternal significance of worshipping God versus the eternal significance of having a gobs of money. Fortune and fame will fade away forever, but worshipping God is eternal.

Old Posts (3) - Religious flavors

When someone tells you they don't care what religion you believe in, than they're saying your religion is false. People treat religion like flavors of ice cream, you prefer vanilla, I prefer chocolate, we each have one that we like better. So whats the difference between preference in ice cream and preference in religion? Ice cream goes through the digestive system and in 24 hours its gone from your body, however the religion most people believe in claims to effect you eternally. People don't mind what flavor of ice cream you prefer, because they want you to be happy now, and know that it won't have any afterlife effects on you. Thus, people who say that it doesn't matter what religion you believe, its personal taste, are saying that your religious beliefs make you happy now but they wont effect you eternally.

Old Posts (2) - Gay Penguins

I've noticed a lot of news articles popping up about gay animals habitating in zoos. Whats the point of observing these gay animals? I'm confident this is an argument against those who say that being gay is a desire humans can control, not a natural, genetic trait. The argument goes if animals are gay then it must be truly natural, therefore gay people are naturally gay, not by choice. One thing I would like to observe from this is not whether being gay is genetic, but rather the fact that people in general realize that animals are different from humans. They realize gay animals provide more proof for genetical gayness than gay humans do. This is huge. Its clear that people, in general, realize there is a clear distinction between the way humans and animals think. So how does a naturalist explain this distinction? How do they explain that the brain is aware that the brain thinks? Honestly I don't know. Animals think, have feelings, and make decisions, but I don't believe that they realize they think. Whereas humans clearly think that they think. I believe this self-awareness can only come from God, and is uniquely given to humans since we are created in the image of God.

Old Posts (1)

Stars are so big and so far away, and I lose sight so often that God created them for us to worship him and his greatness. Paul says we should look at creation and know there is a creator. The world of atheistic science has really affected my own love and praise for God. It causes me to forget sometimes that God is the infinitely creative creator. I lose sight that God is in control of everything. Science is true, because God established its laws. I'm analytical, cynical, and skeptical. I don't want to blindly accept religion, or soley base it off of subjective experience, because then whats the difference between myself and everybody else. But there must be a healthy balance between relentlessly and without doubt, praising God for what he has created, what he is doing, and what he will do, and remaining a student of looking at the objective truth of the God. I pray that when I look at creation, I will better see the amazing creativity of God, and worship God for his creativity, and by creative actions.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Contentment

In one sense, we should be content with everything we have, but in another sense we should continually long for the perfection to come. Our contentment today would be void without an eternal perfection waiting. This life is far from perfect, and often painful. That pain should remind of us sin, and that Jesus came to die, to free us from our sin that we may worship him eternally. So should you be content in this life? Yes and no. Yes, knowing God will always be with you to help you press on to the end. Yes, that your sins have been paid for. Yes, that you can experience samples and foreshadows of the perfect state to come in this life now. But no, you should not think that nothing could make you happier. You should know there is a better life that has yet to arrive. Without the hope to come, today would be meaningless, purposeless.

In times of struggles, don’t lie to yourself and think you need to put on a face of joy to show others that you continually rejoice, but cry in pain, knowing that God’s perfection in you has not been made complete. Remember who God is, and his ultimate promise to rescue you from your own sin and the sin of this world. Find contentment in that promise, while keeping perspective that life is still full of pain and struggles.

Some think that you should always find perfect contentment in this life. I would then argue that their hope is not in the gospel, but in the world. In Philippians 4 when Paul talks about his “secret of contentment” in all things, I believe he has perspective of the day to come in which he completes the race. He is content in the fact that God will get him through whatever trials he wishes to bring him through, but then at death finally his salvation will be made complete.


There is no hope today, without an eternal hope to come.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

What is Emet?

A couple years ago I got a tattoo on my left shoulder. The word is truth translated into Hebrew (pronounced Emet)? People ask me all the time, "So why'd you get a tattoo?" Not necessarily in order of importance these are my reasons: Firstly, I like the way it looks. Secondly, its something Kara and I did together (she got sojourner tattooed on her foot) so there is a shared moment that we will always have. Also, its a staple of our time and our church in Louisville. Louisville is a very unique city, very artsy, and we have a lot of good memories from there. Lastly, I specifically chose the word Truth in Hebrew because I had just finished a year of studying Hebrew and I am passionate about understanding truth. I have always found it both astonishing and frustrating that we live in a world that consistently operates on logic and truth (e.g. if you buy something that cost $15 and you give me $20, than I give you $5 in change) yet so few people apply this same logic and truth to morals and to thoughts on God. We live in a world of post-modernism, where everybody says "you have your truth, and I have mine." But what if our truths contradict each other? They can't both be true. We live in a world that says its narrow-minded to tell other people their beliefs are wrong, but its alright to tell people they are wrong if they are narrow minded. In the "business world" society would fall apart if we all made up our own morals, truths, and logic, but this illogical way of living is accepted in the metaphysical, "religious world." Ultimately everything we do and think is shaped by what we think is true, or what is not true. Do you have to get a tattoo to say you believe in ultimate truth? No, but I'm glad that I did.




Emet - Truth